The Twelve: Chapter 1: The Beginning
by SumiOten
Summary: I'm Zoe Sorenson, age 12. Ever since my birthday on October 7th, things have been getting suspicious. I have been uncovering supernatural abilities that i never thought I could have. Not to mention, when I finally found out what was going on, some stranger named Troy started talking about all these crazy powers! What the hell is happening, here?


It's been a month now. My life will never be the same after this. My name is Zoe Sorenson, and I just turned twelve on October seventh. Ever since that day, I have experienced things that are not natural. It started when I blew out the candles. . . . the flickering flames that danced on the wick instantly turned into water. The next day I was walking to school when I found an uprooted tree. Slap in the middle of the path was a ditch. Stones, soil and sticks were thrown across the pathway. I tried walking down the slim area. Was it a hallucination? Am I doing something wrong? But that wasn't the only thing. I started testing myself. In the middle of the night I got up in my pitch-black room, closed my eyes, and thought: _light_. My body started glowing white, like an aura, as rays of light shot out of my body. What was I turning into?

When I woke up, I went to the bathroom to wash my hands. Instead of drying them, I went outside. I extended my arms out. This time I imagined fire. I squeezed my eyes shut. My hands were not wet anymore, but they felt warm, as if I were placing my hands in an oven. Not to the point where I was going to be burned, just like the sidewalk on a summer day. I fluttered my eyes open. My hands were on _fire_. But I was fine. It didn't hurt me. Yellow flames spread across my fingers. I couldn't believe it . . .I was fire-resistant. I could be invincible! I, not even thinking, ran to the lake down the block. I dipped my hands in the water. The fire was still there. Astonished, I took my hands out of the water. I was fire-resistant, and the fire I made was water-resistant.

I stood up. The first opposites I thought of were earth and air. "Earth." I mumbled. I stretched my arm out to my right. A boulder appeared out of thin air—literally. "Darkness." I raised my voice. A dark shadow wrapped itself around me. What was another? I looked around. An orange leaf gracefully fell from a tall maple tree. I pinched its stem. _Life._ I thought. The center of the leaf turned light green. It spread through its veins and into its edges.

"I could turn water to fire and fire to water. I can convert air to earth, earth to air, light to dark, dark to light, and death to life." I said to myself.

"Well, then." A masculine voice echoed from behind a tree. A tall, scrawny man walked over towards me. I turned around. He had dirty blond hair, pulled back in a small ponytail, ripped jeans, and aviator glasses. He was probably in his late twenties. And—the strangest thing—a hammer strapped to his belt. Not a hammer that you would use to build something; a war hammer, like Thor's.

"Can you turn life to death?" The man placed his hands in his pockets.

"Who are you? Back off!" I stepped back.

"You'll find that out soon. But I'll tell you this: I'm a friend. I'm actually like you. I know others like you, too."

"You're lying. Prove to me that you can make your own fire, since you say you're like me."

The man stressed. "Well, I can't do that, but—"

I ran over to the lake again, but this time I went to jump in it. If I just said, or even just _thought_ the word "Fire", I could be head-to-toe in flames. That would get him away. I leaped into the air. Instead of being doused in water, I was just crouched on the ground. I cautiously stood up. I was in the lake all right, but beside me waves rose up to the sky. I felt like I was Moses parting the Red Sea, but I guess it would be Zoe parting the Small Lake. I bolted out of the pond, sliding down the dirt bowl that concealed the water. My hands snatched at exposed roots sticking out from the wall of the lake. I pulled myself up from the ditch, returning to the shallow part of the dehydrated creek. Looking back, the tidal waves shrank down back to something more insignificant and vulnerable. It was as if I was staring at my broken confidence.

"You see, I can only control water. I can make it disappear," The water in the lake vanished. Lily pads slumped on the dirt. Fish flopped around, gasping for air.

"And I can give it back." He finished. Geysers appeared out of the ground. Within seconds, the lake was filled with water again. He motioned his hand towards the pond. A drop of water soared above me, landing on my nose.

"The others are different, too. But, you—you are the most powerful. We need you. The _world_ needs you." The man held out his hand. "My name is Troy Ouseley. Join us."

I was shocked. What am I, supposed to save the world or something? What did he mean, join "us"? The only thing I knew for sure was that this wasn't an illusion. Blood rushed through my veins, churning like Troy's tidal wave. I could feel the small flames that ran across my fingertips. But most of all, I could feel that I had to go with Troy. So what did I do? I ran away. Behind me Troy shouted, "Wait! You can't go!" The sun started to set. The sky looked as if a god painted it with shades of purple, pink, orange, yellow, and red.

When I got back home, no one even noticed I left. The scent of beef filled the house. When I got up to the kitchen, my parents were having a dinner.

"Zoe, where were you? I called you for dinner _twice_ already!"

"Oh, sorry—I must have not heard you." I was lying of course. What was I supposed to say? _Oh, sorry. I was busy using my superpowers and talking to some guy I didn't know._

I sat down at the table. My dad kept talking about work, my mom patiently pretending to listen. I stared down at the "who-even-knows-what" on my plate.

"Zoe, aren't you going to eat? It's very tender. Try some." My mom interrupted, stuffing meat in her mouth and trying to smile. She turned around and spit it out in a napkin.

"Uh, I'm not hungry."

"You have to eat, Zoe."

I stabbed a pea with my fork, slipping it into my mouth. "Yes, very tender." I scooted out of my chair and ran upstairs, to the office. I immediately started typing. I thought about what could be the source of our powers. _He gives and takes water. I control opposites. Maybe I need to keep everything in balance?_ Then a thought occurred to me. My astrological sign, Libra, represented the scales, and . . . balance. I did some research. If he could control water, Troy must be the Water Bearer.

"Aquarius." I muttered. _Does this mean there is a Taurus, a Capricorn, and a Cancer?_ It had to be true. My powers were from Libra, Troy's were from Aquarius, and everyone else's was from everything else's. There was only one thing left to find out: how did this happen?

I did some more research. Nothing. _Would Troy know the source? Should I try to find him and ask?_ Thoughts raced through my mind. I glanced at the clock. It was already an hour to midnight, so I went to bed. That's when I had the dream.

I was in the woods, sitting near a bonfire. Tents filled the woods, thrown into random areas. Tall pine trees fenced the campsite. The full moon shone above me. Then, I heard someone walking over. _Crunch, crunch, snap!_ Dead leaves broke. I saw the silhouette of a boy walking over. I thought _light_, so I could see who it was. A white aura swirled around him. He was stunned, staring at me. In one hand he held a dead trout with a gash in its side; in the other he held a dagger. He was tan with dirty blond hair. He widened his light-blue eyes. "Who are you? How did you get here?" He ran up to me, holding his knife against my throat.

"I-I'm Zoe. I don't know how I got here. Who are you?"

He refused to answer my question. "Get out of here! You don't belong somewhere like this." He yelled.

"Where are we, anyway?" I asked.

"I said you don't belong here! Leave!" I went to push him away, but my hands went straight through him. I opened my eyes. I couldn't feel him. It was as if I was a ghost. I decided to take advantage of this ability.

"You can't hurt me. Tell me where we are, or I will kill—I mean, seriously injure you!" I stood. No way I was killing _anyone_. He stepped back.

"And what makes you think you can do that?" The boy smirked. He stabbed his dagger into the ground. His entire body turned into small, tan creatures. They skittered across the dirt, pinching their tiny claws.

"Crabs." I realized. "You just turned into crabs." The boy's voice echoed in my head. At first, he murmured, "Why isn't she scared?" Then he raised his voice. "No, duh. Now get out of here before you get hurt!"

"Cancer. . . . you're Cancer!" I pointed. The crabs stopped.

"How did you—do you know about us? Leave us alone!" The crabs started moving again. They toppled over each other, making themselves look like small ocean waves. That was it—waves! I raised my hands towards the bonfire and got into a fighting position. I thought, _water_. The flames turned to water, crashing into the crabs. The water headed towards the lake behind them. Before I could wash him into the pond, the water stopped. I tried to use my mind harder to make the water keep moving, but it wouldn't budge. I thought about turning it back into fire, but I probably would've murdered the crabs, which were actually a human. The water turned into a fist, dropping the crabs onto the ground. They turned back into the boy. He sat on the ground, propping himself up with his arms in a pool of water. The hand turned back into a tidal wave, trying to wash me away. The waves soaked up into the ground.

"Is that you?" a familiar voice called. I looked over into the darkness. _Light,_ I imagined. The stranger lit up. It was the mysterious man, Troy, from before—Aquarius, the Water Bearer.

"Yes. And I have figured you guys out. You are the mortal forms of the twelve zodiac signs!" I hopped down from the log. Troy grinned.

"I'm surprised you found out so quickly. Do you know your sign yet?"

"I'm Libra, the Balance." I said with confidence.

"And what is your real sign?"

"Uh, well, Libra. It's the same." I told him. He looked at the Cancer guy.

"She's the one." Troy comprehended. The teenager stood up. "Well that's great, but look." He ran over to me. He tried to punch me, but his hand went right through my face. I looked like a shadow-covered part of my eye. He took his hand out of me.

"What's that all about? Is she a ghost or something?" He asked. Troy can over, examining me as if I were a piece of artwork.

"She's in a dream right now, but it isn't a dream. It's more of a vision, but not that either. . . it's very hard to explain. Dylan, should we wake up the others?"

"It's hard to understand, too." Dylan mumbled. "No, just let them sleep. Should I try to find her when she wakes up?" He volunteered. Troy took off his sunglasses and gazed into my eyes. His irises were silvery-gray, just like mine.

"No. She'll find us. You _are_ going to visit us, right?" He put his sunglasses back on. "I would consider this whole scenario an invitation." Troy stretched.

"Well, I'm going back to the tent. See you tomorrow, Libra." Just like that, I started to fade away. My sight got blurry as Troy and Dylan walked towards the tents. Dylan looked back at me, showing me his profile.

"The name's Zoe." I said behind them. Now I knew two things: One, I was part of Troy and Dylan's group of people who were possessed by the twelve astrological signs. Two, once I woke up, I had to pack for a _very_ long journey.


End file.
